More wet weather forecast as storm recovery continues

Eastbourne DGH District General Hospital shows the effect of the bad weather over Christmas and the New Year with cladding being torn down. January 3rd 2013 E01009Q

Published:17:00Friday 03 January 2014

Parts of Eastbourne and the surrounding area have been put on standby as the Environment Agency issued a fresh round of flood alerts for this coming weekend.

The stormy weather that plagued the end of 2013 looks set to carry over to the New Year, with the Met Office warning of potential flooding at the Cuckmere River and coastal areas of Seaford and Pevensey seafront.

The clean-up process is still ongoing after wet and windy weather caused damage and disruption across the South East over the festive period, including leaving thousands of Sussex homes without power and forcing the cancellation of the majority of rail services.

Long periods of torrential downpour has left many areas of Eastbourne flooded and with drains still blocked with leaves and debris, the forecast of many more days of rain could cause further problems throughout the town.

Festive celebrations were ruined for a number of families due to the adverse weather, with a couple in Pevensey Bay claiming their Christmas was ‘spoilt’ as a power cut forced them to throw away hundreds of pounds worth of food due to be cooked for a Boxing Day party, while flooding outside their home caused distress to another family in Westham.

The DGH was one of many buildings to witness some damage after winds of up to 80mph hit the coast at the beginning of last week, also causing more than a hundred trees to blow over, blocking roads and damaging power cables.

A spokesperson from the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said, “On the 23rd December, the strong winds caused two pieces of cladding to fall into an internal courtyard in the hospital.

“They broke free from the exterior of a water tank room situated on the roof. No one was hurt and no other damage was caused. A temporary repair has been made to make the tank room safe and a full repair will be undertaken soon.”

The weather proved such a concern that the Redoubt Fortress cancelled its New Year’s Day concert, which was set to feature the Ray Campbell Dance Band.

A notice put up outside the museum read, ‘Unfortunately, due to adverse weather conditions the New Year’s Day concerts have been cancelled. We are sorry for any disappointment caused’.

Festive fun was also abandoned on the football field as all three of the town’s clubs saw their Christmas fixtures postponed due to waterlogged pitches across the South.

UK Power Networks have confirmed that electricity has been restored to all homes in the South East.

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